as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
went from being a penniless girl to owner of her own restaurant
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Recent Examples of penniless
The series and costumes simultaneously trace Joan’s life from a penniless single mother to a high-class thief that earns her the nickname of The Godmother in London’s criminal underworld.
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Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 1 Oct. 2024
And this happened after the penniless Abigail was obliged to take an almost three-hundred-mile solo horseback journey to be reunited with her younger children, from whom Asa had arranged to separate her.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024
In The Luckiest Lady in London, published in 2013, Louisa Cantwell—penniless and prospectless—piques the attention of the most eligible bachelor of the season, Felix Rivendale, Lord Wenworth.
—Meg Zukin, TIME, 1 Aug. 2024
His ever-loyal wife, penniless in his absence and largely shunned from society, visited him.
—Carl Hoffman, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for penniless 
Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 1 Oct. 2024
And this happened after the penniless Abigail was obliged to take an almost three-hundred-mile solo horseback journey to be reunited with her younger children, from whom Asa had arranged to separate her.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024
In The Luckiest Lady in London, published in 2013, Louisa Cantwell—penniless and prospectless—piques the attention of the most eligible bachelor of the season, Felix Rivendale, Lord Wenworth.
—Meg Zukin, TIME, 1 Aug. 2024
His ever-loyal wife, penniless in his absence and largely shunned from society, visited him.
—Carl Hoffman, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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Unfortunately, in recent years, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has embraced and promoted an impoverished worldview regarding gender and sexuality.Enquirer staff, The Enquirer, 29 Oct. 2024
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On an international level, too..., one country’s climate response can easily leave another country impoverished, either through neglect, foolishness or outright malevolence.Saima S. Iqbal, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Trump, for one thing, had a favorable set of issues behind him and the Republican Party: Biden had seen poor favorability and approval ratings throughout his term in office, despite scoring several legislative wins, including a bipartisan infrastructure deal that had previously eluded Trump.Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
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Apparently, my daughter didn’t finish all of the food on her plate, and the mom felt that was incredibly rude and a sign of poor manners.Harriette Cole, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The Pogues are broke, homeless, and once again being chased by killers, so sounds like the perfect time to put all their focus into yet another treasure hunt.Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 3 Nov. 2024
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The film revolves around two broke women, Gwen (Westervelt) and James (Amanda) in their thirties who embark on a mission to collect money from failing, wannabe artists with the hopes of raising enough to buy an expensive gift for a baby shower thrown for Gwen’s sister.Emiliana Betancourt, Variety, 14 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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